Making your dream wedding come to life on a budget may seem like a difficult task, especially when you know what you want. However, we have a few tricks up our sleeves to help you get there without breaking your bank account.

Set a dollar amount. First and foremost, set a budget number and stick to it. This is the most important rule of budgeting. You need to keep that figure in the back of your mind when considering all the details of your big day. The point of a budget is to prevent you from overspending, so you need to establish this dollar amount as a hard stop. 

Set individual budgets. After you set the overall budget amount, breakdown budgets for each individual area of the wedding. Set a dollar amount for your dress, the groom’s attire, flowers, favors, catering, décor, etc.

Number of guests. When you’re thinking about who you would like to invite to your big day, remember that you’re paying for their accommodations as well. If you really can’t compromise on cutting anyone from your guest list, then retract a plus one from the invite. This will help save cost on food and drink more than you may think.

Wildflowers.  Wildflowers are not only going to be a popular flower choice for the 2017 wedding season, but they are inexpensive and easy to arrange. Wild, overflowing bouquets are going to be all the rage, so if you’re crafty enough to do it yourself, you can arrange your own centerpieces by way of this style.

Cupcakes. Instead of a large 3-4 tier cake, opt for a small cake for you and yours to cut and serve cupcakes (or another dessert of your choice) to your guests. Still incredibly delicious, this option is cheaper and easy to serve. Cupcakes have also been trending the last few years, and it doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon. 

Weekday venue rental. Fridays and Saturdays are expensive to reserve an event space. Weekdays however, can be much cheaper. Make sure to check venues for discounted rates for a non-Saturday wedding.

It’s never easy to set limits, but if you sit down with your partner and draw up guidelines about what you both really want and what you can do without, then setting the budget will be much easier. It all comes down to what is most important to the two of you and the rest will follow!